1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sealing arrangement consisting of two abutting construction elements made of concrete, steel, reinforced concrete, cast iron or other materials (for example synthetic resins), as well as of a sealing section made of an elastomer material which sealingly bridges the gap between the two construction elements, whereby the construction elements are in particular segments which are assembled into a tubular tunnel, with formation of transverse and longitudinal joints, whereby each segment is preferably provided with at least one groove extending all around and covering all abutting sides of the segments, and whereby a sealing section extending in the form of a strand is present in each groove, said sealing section being provided with open and/or closed flutes extending in the form of a strand and being arranged on the section base side, as well as with ducts also extending in the form of a strand and arranged between the flutes and the section front side. Since the segments have four abutting sides in most cases, the sealing frame consists of four assembled sealing sections, whereby the corners of the frame are preferably produced according to the injection molding process.
2. The Prior Art
A sealing arrangement according to the type specified above is known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,309. As a result of the fact that the abutting construction elements or segments are compressed, with reduction of the spacing of the gap or the transverse and longitudinal joints, the sealing section made of elastomeric material then develops its sealing power through the interaction between force and reactive force. Such compression seals have been successfully used in numerous tunnel projects.
Now, based on the prior art described above, the problem is to arrange the flutes and ducts in such a way that the force-displacement performance of the parallel basic surfaces is assured for achieving permanent tightness.